I have a 93 Honda Civic DX manual transmission. The head gasket is obviously blown. This was described as probably a symptom, not the cause. I will be taking the header off and getting it pressure checked.



Milky oil.

I also noticed that just on the left side of the engine, there is a lot of "fresh" oil under the header gasket. Possibly a sign of where the header gasket failed (or a crack in the header or engine block!)




Just wet and oily on the left side.

I think I can do this.
Also, as I go along with the break down, if I have new questions, do I ask them in this thread or do I start another for the specific question. What's the etiquette?
Thanks in advance. Wish me luck!

 

Oil under the header gasket means either your valve cover gasket is leaking, distributor o-ring leaking you seem to see that you have an oil issue but you didn't bother to look into it until you notice your oil was being milky.

 

I didn't notice anything until my car wouldn't start last week. When I tried the ignition, the starter made a single clunk sound. I rolled it back a bit and popped the clutch. It didn't start then, but then the ignition worked. I drove home from work that night, 15 minutes and parked it. In the morning I looked under the hood and saw the leaking oil and the milky oil. I had an oil change about 3K miles ago and the never noticed anything. Hoping I caught this early.

 

Before assuming head gasket, do a compression test. You will likely get a good indication if the head gasket is bad with the compression test results.

As for etiquette, keep posting your questions here.

Also please edit your first post and put the trim level of the 93 civic. A 93 Si/EX has a totally different motor than the DX and in the US the CX has a different motor than the other 3 and then there is the VX motor too.

There are significant differences in the head gaskets between the 4 motors of the 92-95 era.

Your trim level will indicate which motor is in the car if it is still the stock engine of the car.

 

Did you overheat?

This could be very important, I didn't see you shared if it did or not.

TomCat, tony, and really anyone else that posts to help you won't steer you wrong.

 

I've heard it mentioned and have seen a video showing what it looks like but not the process. I've searched and can't find much more. Here's what I think so far:
Zip tie timing belt to gear that is attached to header. I believe the gear is then removed (that single nut, lefty lucy??) and attached to a piece of wood spanning the engine bay so it stays taught and doesn't slip off bottom gears.

Thoughts or input? I'm total beginner. I'm sure it's not ideal but I don't have a timing belt gun/strobe thingy and cash is tight.

 

I'm assuming you mean the head, as the header is in no way connected to the timing belt as it is a part of the exhaust system.
The short answer is there is no way to do what you want. If the head comes off, the belt comes off.

 

mark the cam gear and belt with a painter's pen. use those marks when reinstalling.

 

Ummm... OK. Did I mention I'm a beginner. I just learned that I don't have a header. I have an exhaust manifold. So yes, I'm removing the head. Blown head gasket at the very least. I plan on getting the head pressure tested. Air intake manifold and exhaust manifold are disconnected. I'm unsure of what to do next though. Before I take off the distributor, I believe I need to get the #1 cylinder to the compression stage and top dead center. Then I'm not exactly sure how to remove the cam gear. Not sure why it needs to be top dead center.
Researching this right now though.

 

This worked for me before I learned how to use TDC marks and properly put the belt back on.

Do exactly what he said, just take a painters pen and mark the cam gear and the belt. DOHC you do it twice. Line up the mark on your cam gear with the mark on the belt when re-installing.

 

Think I got it. I'll mark the cam gear and belt. Then just remove the bolt right? Is it really torqued up? Will it shift as I try and loosen it? Does the #1 piston need to be at top dead center?

 

Merged threads, one thread per car/per issue.

 

Thank you for merging. I apologize. But there's the answer to my initial question. The etiquette is one thread per car/per issue.

 

To remove the head, you basically disconnect everything that is attached to the head, and remove the 10 head bolts last, in reverse sequential order of tightening. Thats oversimplifying it perhaps, sure, but, it's true.

I did the head removal on my car, as well. The biggest issue I encountered was rusted-down bolts, mostly on the exhaust manifold.

 

Here is another videoguide, I did view multiple of these videos to assist my disassembly. There are about three that I know of, and probably more than that.

 

^^ You DO have a blown Head Gasket, right? You KNOW that?

 

Check sig for the FAQ
You can do your own compression test easily enough, leakdowns without the kit (autozone, rent for free so long as you return it) are a bit harder.

Otherwise, test test test before you just rip it apart

 

I guess I don't really know anything. Just going with the most likely scenario. The valve cover is removed and the oil is terrible. That video rocked. I thought I was going to have to go the route of changing the timing belt by removing the engine mount.




Very milky

Gonna look at head gasket and get it pressure checked.

 

Is this the timing belt tension bolt?

 

no

Google: factory service manual 92-95 civic ab0ve

You should find a viable link to the helms factory service manual for your car. It will be your bible.

Also read both the FAQ sticky and the RULES sticky. Both will aid you here.

 

HORY SHIET



Dude you CANNOT do a head gasket job yet. You need to do some reading....find the FSM like Tomcat said.

 

Somebody threw in some new rocker arms

 

Or engine cleaner has been used almost religiously no?

 

Check the electrical connectors in the cylinder head. My engine had gone bad because the "fan switch" electrical connector broke, causing the fan to not kick on.

These old connectors are crap, get brittle, boom motors done.

 

all you need to do is loosen the tensioner bolt (14mm) to release the belt's tension. slide it off the cam gear. no need to remove either cam or crank pulley. you do not need to set your engine to tdc prior to doing this, but after you have marked and removed the head, be careful to NOT rotate the engine/move the car AT ALL. you can do the same paint pen trick for your distributor, if you're not confident in your ability to set ignition timing. aside from that, a good trick would be to remove the intake manifold and leave it in the car. this will keep you from breaking or mislabeling any hoses or wire connectors. do your best to clean that gunk out of your engine. a flush with clean oil when reassembled is smart, as would be running it with clean oil for a brief time and then changing the oil and filter again.